Simple Spatial Modeling Tool for Prioritizing Prescribed Burning Activities at the Landscape Scale

Abstract:   Resources for prescribed fire are frequently insufficient to manage public lands for all conservation and resource management objectives, necessitating prioritization of the application of fire across the landscape within any given year. Defining tradeoffs when applying prescribed fire to large landscapes is problematic not only because of the complexity of weighing competing management objectives at the landscape scale, but also because of the difficult nature of independently applying need-to-burn criteria to large areas. We present a case study of a simple modeling process implemented at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle (U.S.A.) to prioritize the application of prescribed fire. In a workshop setting, managers and biologists identified key conservation criteria and landscape management objectives that drive the application of prescribed fire. Remote sensing and other spatial data were developed to directly or indirectly represent all these criteria. Using geographic information system software, managers and biologists weighted each criterion according to its relative contribution to overall burn prioritization, and individual values for the criterion were scored according to how they influence the need to burn. Subsequently, this process has been validated and modified through ecological monitoring. This modeling process has also been applied to the 77,400-ha Blackwater River State Forest, public land adjacent to Eglin Air Force Base, demonstrating its applicability to lands with varying management priorities. The advantages of this model-based approach for prioritizing prescribed fire include the reliance on accessible, inexpensive software, the development of spatially explicit management objectives, the ease of transferability, and clearly stated assumptions about management that may be tested and reviewed through monitoring and public comment.     

Impending Recovery of Kirtland's Warbler: Case Study in the Effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act

Dendroica kirtlandii ). This particular recovery program actually began before passage of the federal ESA, when biologists alerted the Michigan Department of Natural Resources of the perilously low population of this bird, which only breeds under jack pine (Pinus banksiana) trees in Michigan. By the time an ESA Recovery Team was formed for this bird in 1975 (the first such team created under the ESA), a legacy of consensus and interagency cooperation was well established. This has led to successful efforts at habitat management and control of its nest parasite, the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater). While the Kirtland's warbler is not yet recovered, its population is near an all-time high, and its recovery is possible within the next decade. When (and if) this happens, it will be clearly attributable to this successful model of federalism for natural resources management.     

RIPARIAN FOREST EFFECT ON LATERAL STREAM CHANNEL MIGRATION IN THE GLACIAL TILL PLAINS1

ABSTRACT: Dendrochronology analyses of point bar complexes were used to quantify the effects of riparian forests on local lateral migration of bends in seven streams in the glacial till plains of north central Missouri. Stream bends were paired with similar bank height, midchannel radius of curvature, soil composition, and watershed size. In each pair, one concave bank was forested and one was unforested. Stream bends with unforested concave banks had an average local migration rate three times greater than stream bends that had forested concave banks.     

松针生理性质对其富集多环芳烃行为的影响

测定了雪松(Cedrus deodar)和黑松(Pinus thunbergii)松针的脂含量、气孔密度和比表面积等生理性质及松针中多环芳烃 (PAHs)浓度,考察了松针生理性质对其富集PAHs行为的影响.结果表明,雪松松针中PAHs浓度高于黑松,其平均总浓度(ΣPAHs)分别为(1101±692)ng/g和(518±339)ng/g,2种松针对PAHs的富集能力有较大差异,脂含量是决定松针富集PAHs量的首要因素.2种松针中PAHs组成均以3环和4环PAHs为主,分别占ΣPAHs的56%和31%以上.松针对于3环PAHs的富集能力强于4环PAHs,两者浓度差异约为2倍左右;对于5、6环PAHs,未发现其浓度与脂含量之间的相关关系.由于雪松和黑松松针的脂含量随比表面积具有不同的变化趋势,2种松针中PAHs浓度随比表面积的变化趋势相反.对于5、6环PAHs,松针比表面积和气孔密度对其浓度有显著影响.     

大气臭氧浓度增加对湿地松幼苗的影响

采用开顶式气室(open top chambers,OTCs)装置,研究O<,3>浓度增加(E-O<,3>约150 nL·L<'-1>)对湿地松幼苗的影响,包括伤害症状、植株生长、针叶光合色素含量、气体交换速率与叶绿素荧光、丙二醛(MDA)以及主要抗氧化剂含量变化.经过E-O<,3>处理一个生长季后(AOT40值为38...     

缙云山马尾松林和柑橘林土壤微生物PLFA沿海拔梯度的变化

土壤微生物群落是土壤生态系统的重要组成部分,对环境变化敏感.本文运用磷脂脂肪酸法(PLFA)研究缙云山马尾松林和柑橘林土壤微生物群落结构沿海拔梯度的变化特征.结果表明,从6个海拔土壤中共检测到48种PLFA,其中i16:0、10Me17:0、10Me18:0 TBSA在6个海拔中含量均最高,且柑橘林土壤PLFA种类和含量明显高于马尾松林.随着海拔升高马尾松林土壤微生物种类和含量逐渐增加,柑橘林则逐渐降低,各海拔间细菌、真菌、放线菌、革兰氏阴性菌(G~-)及革兰氏阳性菌(G~+)含量差异显著.土壤微生物群落多样性研究结果表明,马尾松林低海拔丰富度指数(R),多样性指数(H')、均匀度指数(J)均显著高于高海拔,而柑橘林R在低海拔最高,H'、J则在高海拔最高.不同海拔土壤细菌、放线菌、G~-及G~+与土壤酶和环境因子之间存在相关性,细菌、放线菌、G~-及G~+与脲酶(Ure)、转化酶(Ive)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)、林分类型均呈极显著正相关,真菌与Ure、Ive、CAT呈显著正相关;而细菌、真菌、放线菌、G~-及G~+与海拔呈极显著或显著负相关.Ure、Ive、CAT、林分及海拔是影响土壤微生物PLFA变化的重要因子.     

全球主要森林系统中植被汞分布特征及其影响因素

基于过去20a全球森林植被中汞循环过程的相关研究,本文通过荟萃分析法阐明全球主要森林类型中植被汞分布特征及其影响因素.结果表明,汞在植被中浓度排序特征(以中值计)依次为凋落物(38.9ng/g)>叶片(24.1ng/g)>树根(18.5ng/g)>树皮(13.2ng/g)>树枝(12.0ng/g)>树干(3.1ng/g...     

Removal of congo red and basic violet 1 by chir pine (Pinus roxburghii) sawdust,a saw mill waste: batch and column studies

The efficiency of chir pine sawdust (CPS) for adsorptive removal of the dyes, congo red (CR) and basic violet 1 (BV), from aqueous solution was evaluated using batch and column studies. The equilibrium was attained in 60 min for CR and 45 min for BV. The adsorption of BV obeyed the Langmuir isotherm model while the Freundlich isotherm fitted the equilibrium data of CR adsorption. The Langmuir monolayer adsorption capacities (Q_o) of CPS for BV and CR were 11.3 and 5.8 g kg^?1, respectively. The kinetic data for CR were best fitted to the Lagergren pseudo-first-order model and for BV to the pseudo-second-order model. The intra-particle diffusion was found to be the rate-controlling step for CR adsorption, while the adsorption kinetics of BV were controlled by both intra-particle and liquid-film diffusion. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The adsorption activation energy (E_a) for CR (124 kJ mol^?1) implied chemical adsorption while that for BV (5.4 kJ mol^?1) indicated physical adsorption. An increase in the Thomas model constant (K_Th) with increasing flow indicated that for both dyes the mass transport resistance decreased during adsorption. Thus, CPS may be an efficient low-cost adsorbent for decolorization of dye-containing wastewaters.     

Identifying forest ecosystem services through socio-ecological bundles: a case study from northern Jordan

This study aims to identify services provided by forest ecosystems based on locals’ perceptions in the northern part of Jordan. By better understanding preferences of locals and by understanding why they value certain services more heavily, policy-makers and planning managers can make more effective decisions regarding development and conservation. Three hundred respondents were interviewed in order to collect information about forest ecosystem services (ES). Data collection was conducted using a structured questionnaire regarding ES provided by three forest types situated in northern Jordan. ES trade-offs and socio-ecological bundles were identified by analyzing respondents’ socioeconomic demographics and preferences of forest ES through multivariate canonical corresponding analysis (CCA). The statistical analysis indicated that the socioeconomic factors and forest type have an effect on social preferences toward ES. Results displayed a clear trade-off between provisioning services and regulating and cultural services. CCA demonstrated that 73% of the variation in ES value is explained by social factors (i.e. education level, income level, and gender), while 26% of perception variation was attributable to categories of ES supplied by each forest ecosystem. These findings imply that involving people in the place-specific management of public forests using the ES approach gives managers a clearer understanding of the benefits people recognize and value, as well as those they either are not aware of or do not value. Such information is useful in forest management and in public outreach. Although direct policy applications are limited by the research’s nature, the paper provides a starting point for incorporating forest users’ voices into policy discussions and management design.     

气温变化对西南山区流域森林水文效应影响的模拟

为了揭示气温变化对西南山区流域森林水文效应的影响,用生物物理/动态植被模型SSiB4/TRIFFID与流域地形指数水文模型TOPMODEL的耦合模型SSiB4T/TRIFFID模拟了西南山区长江上游梭磨河流域森林水文效应对气温变化的响应,分析了气温变化对植被不同演替阶段的流域总径流和总蒸发以及冠层截流蒸发、植被蒸腾和土壤蒸发的影响。结果表明,（1）梭磨河流域森林（常绿针叶林）蒸腾与草和灌木差异小,森林蒸腾潜热比草和灌木仅高1~4 W.m-2,森林冠层截留蒸发高于草和灌木,但土壤蒸发明显低于草和灌木覆盖,森林覆盖流域总蒸发低于草和灌木覆盖甚至低于裸土蒸发,因此增加了流域总径流量,但森林增加径流的作用随土壤蒸发的减小而减小。（2）气温减小1℃将通过减小森林冠层截留蒸发和蒸腾而使森林增加流域总径流量的作用增加;相反,气温增加将增加森林冠层截留蒸发和蒸腾而使森林增加总径流量的作用减小。（3）当温度增加4℃,由于森林总蒸发较草和灌木明显增加,对于较高的土壤蒸发,森林增加总径流量的作用已不明显;对于较低的土壤蒸发,森林减小了流域总径流量。